A Matter Of Time
by Joeser
Summary: AU based on a dream I've had. It takes place at the carnival and it's mainly from Peter's point of view.


_This is all based on a dream I recently had. I can't remember every single detail just like any other dream, so I had to add a little of my conscious imagination to my unconscious imagination. I'm just gonna throw this out there._

_Fifty years in the future. This story takes place at the carnival, but Samuel isn't in charge. Peter is, supported by a group of specials. All the other carnies are his family and it consists of every single person with abilities that you know from Heroes. They all live at the carnival, but the world sees them as freaks and they are considered 'dangerous' by the government. Eventually the government decides to do something about the ever growing amount of people with abilities. Remember, this is the future. The government uses robots instead of people to deal with criminals. (Yes, I have crazy dreams like this one, but I enjoy having them.)_

_Every single character that died in Heroes is still alive in this story. Even the ones that were killed by Sylar. In this AU Sylar knows how to absorb abilities just like Peter. So they both have a lot of abilities, but Sylar still has intuitive aptitude. And we all know that that specific ability comes with a negative side effect, called 'the hunger'. He hasn't killed anyone in his entire life. Not yet…_

* * *

**Precognitive Dreaming**

"What are you talking about?!"

"I'm sorry, Peter. I can't do it."

"Are you fucking kidding me?! You're telling me this _now_?!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They needed him, now more than ever. "Gabriel. We're at war with the government! You can't just bail on us."

"I _know_! But I can't help you." It was impossible. He had been feeling the hunger for quite a while now and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to get rid of it. It was getting stronger by the minute. He wanted to help, but he wouldn't risk the lives of his friends and family.

"Then what are you still doing here? I have no time for this!" Things were about to get serious and Peter was in charge of protecting his family. That Gabriel wasn't going to help them was a huge set-back, but he couldn't force him to do something he didn't want. Gabriel always had a mind of his own. "Just get out of my sight, Gabriel."

"I'm really so-,"

"Just **_go_**!" Peter shouted. "Go! Abandon your family!"

Gabriel wasn't going anywhere. He needed to explain to Peter that it was in their best interest if he left. He couldn't help it and that was something Peter would never understand. The empath hasn't been able to absorb his ability, so he didn't have any idea how difficult it was to contain it.

Peter grunted in frustration. "Fine! Don't go! But you better stay out of our way if you're not going to help."

"I want to help…"

"Forget it," Peter said as he walked away.

Nathan was standing at the entrance of the Tunnel of Teleportation. He turned around when he heard his brother coming towards him. "What's wrong?" he asked when he saw the look on Peter's face. He was fuming.

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong! We are going to win this fight, with or without his help!"

Nathan was confused. "What are you talking about?" He looked at the tunnel where Peter just came from. "Gabriel is not going to help us?"

"Nope," Peter answered irritably, "but there's nothing we can do about it."

"So, how _are_ we going to do this?"

"How we do everything. Together."

"You think we have a chance?" Nathan asked. They were going to face the government's robots. Robots with machine guns. Resisting arrest meant they could use brute force to get the carnies arrested. They could even kill if that was the only way…

"Of course we do!" Peter sighed. Nathan only ever saw the negative side of things. "They have machines. But we have _abilities_. They are no match for us."

"I hope so." Nathan looked away. They had a pretty good view over the entire carnival from this spot. "What do you want me to do?" He felt useless. His ability was useless. Nathan wanted to fight, make a difference. But he could hardly destroy a robot just by flying around it.

"Get the kids to safety, drag the wounded away from the battlefield, I don't know... Drop water balloons on their giant mechanic heads?"

"Peter, this isn't exactly the right time to make jokes," he said sternly, but laughed at Peter's joke in spite of the bad timing. "You make everything look so simple."

"I won't let them change me, Nate. We can take care of ourselves." They should be left alone. What was so wrong about having an ability? It's not like they were using their abilities to do bad things. "Let's go," Peter said eventually.

As they walked towards the carnival's main stage they passed by several carnival game tents. It was the biggest carnival _in the world_, without a doubt, and Peter walked through it gleaming with pride. They had worked so hard to get here, but the government wanted to put a spanner in their works. Peter wasn't going to let that happen. He would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening.

All the carnies were gathered around the main stage. Peter hopped on to the stage, followed by Nathan. The carnies stopped talking as soon as they saw him, because he was their leader as well as their brother. They respected him.

"Brothers and sisters," he began, raising his voice. "It pains me to say this, but…" he took a deep breath, "but the government is planning an attack on us, not far from here, tonight."

They were not expecting that. The fear was written on their faces. Some of the men and women cursed loudly and some of the children started crying. They all knew that it was a possibility, that the government would eventually do something like that, but they had never expected that it would happen so soon. That's why they travelled around a lot, but there was no escaping now.

"I know it sounds bad," Peter continued, "but we can't run away anymore."

"Why not?!" Mohinder shouted. He was standing in front of the stage, looking up at Peter. "It's what we always do! We just get up and leave."

"No, Mohinder. This _is_ going to happen." He turned his attention to the rest of the crowd again. "Listen everybody. I've seen it happen in the future and so did Gabriel and my mother. We've all seen it. There is going to be a fight, but I'm telling you this. We _are_ going to win!"

"You don't know that!"

"Stay out of my head, Matt!"

Matt walked through the crowd towards the stage, holding his son and shaking his head. "No, I won't let you risk the lives of our family."

"I know what you're thinking, Matt. I can hear what you all are thinking. You're afraid, so am I. But we'll always be afraid if we don't do something about it. We can defend ourselves! I know we can!"

"I agree with Peter," Samuel said as he joined the Petrelli brothers on the stage. "It's time to show the world that we are just like everyone else, that we are humans. Humans who happened to be born with an ability. And I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that, but we didn't choose to be born like this! They don't have the right to judge us."

Samuel's speech had the desired effect. There was a sparkling of hope in their eyes again. He and Nathan had always been better at giving speeches than Peter had been. He knew that. It always made him wonder why they had chosen _him_ as their leader.

Nathan put his hand on his brother's shoulder and said, "We have to stop hiding and start fighting!"

Peter nodded. "We are strong. Stronger than we know. But we won't force you. If you don't want to be a part of this, than that's okay." And then he had to wait. Who would join them and who would run?

"We _are _strong, Peter. I'll stand beside you and we will bury their machine heads under the ground."

Peter nodded his thanks to Samuel and wondered who else would be willing to risk their life. It was a lot to ask, but he was sick and tired of running. The future had showed him that most of the carnies were willing to fight, but the future was an ever changing event. He had seen many different scenarios in his dreams.

"You'll have my strength," Mohinder said.

"And my fire," Meredith said.

Nathan smiled at his wife. He had always been able to count on her. Claire was standing next to Meredith. She probably wanted to help as well, but regeneration wasn't exactly useful at a fight. He wasn't going to let her help. His indestructible little girl. But Claire wasn't entirely indestructible. Her head wouldn't grow back after they shot it off. Nathan flinched at the thought of his daughter, dead.

"We'll be there as well, Peter," Tracy said. Barbara was standing to her right and Niki to her left.

_Great!_ They could really use their abilities. If he could get the most powerful abilities to join the fight, they'd have an even better chance at winning. Meredith's pyrokinesis could come in very handy. Mohinder and Niki had their super strength. Barbara had her weather control and Stacy her freezing ability.

Peter had absorbed all their abilities and so did Gabriel. But they could no longer count on Gabriel's help. He had to forget about Gabriel, if he didn't want to help then he was no longer part of their family.

One by one the carnies volunteered to help. Even the ones with unusable abilities, offered to help in any way they could. Peter smiled at Nathan. This family was stronger than any other family in the world. No one was going to split them apart. He looked at Samuel. "Do you mind?" he asked. He wanted the man to continue his speech.

"Not at all." Samuel walked to the front of the stage. "We don't deserve this!" he shouted. The carnies responded and cheered. "They came here to visit our Tunnel of Teleportation, were mystified by our Illusion Palace and enjoyed every wonderful amusement ride that we have here. We have healed their sick and wounded. They came to our House of Healing, to get cured from their diseases by our beloved Mrs. Nakamura and Jeremy. No doctor in the world could heal them and they were told that death was inevitable. When they turned to us as a last resort, we helped them. And now they thank us by bringing their robotic army to our door and forcing us to surrender! So let me ask you. What did we do wrong?"

The carnies shouted "Nothing!" and "Monsters!".

"That's right my brothers and sisters. We didn't do anything! They're just afraid. Afraid and jealous. They don't have these powers and it's their opinion that if they can't have them, we can't have them either. I say, let us show them who we are! Let them see just how special we really are!"

"Samuel, you're a fucking genius," Peter said as he watched the crowd. They were bawling and shouting and hollering. Some gave each other high-fives, others hugged their children before sending them to the Tunnel of Teleportation. That had always been their evacuation plan. In case of emergency they'd bring everyone to the Tunnel so Hiro could teleport them away.

"Pete," Nathan said. "I'm taking Claire to the Tunnel with me."

"You're leaving?" Peter asked his brother incredulously. They could really use him.

"Yeah… She can't stay here. There's nothing she can do and you don't really need me here."

_What?_ "I _do_ need you here, by my side. I thought we were in this together?"

"There's nothing I _can_ do." He placed both his hands on Peter's shoulders. "Promise me, that you'll be careful. I don't wanna lose you too, Pete."

"You won't lose me, Nate." He sighed. Nathan was referring to losing their dad a couple of months ago. "Okay, get Claire and everyone else to safety. Go somewhere, where no one will find you. Stay there until you think it's safe enough to return."

Nathan hugged his brother close to him. "Good luck," he said with a sigh.

They let go of each other and Peter smiled reassuringly at him. "We will win, Nate. I can _feel_ it."

"I hope you're right."

Nathan went to his wife and daughter.

"Peter?"

He turned around and saw Elle standing before him. "Yeah?"

"Where's Gabriel?"

_Oh, fuck! _He had forgotten about Gabriel. "Gabe… He's at the Tunnel…" _Oh, no…_ "Elle, you have to come with me." He grabbed her arm and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were standing at the entrance of the Tunnel of Teleportation.

"Oh god, I hate it when you guys do that."

"There's no time for that, Elle. I need your help with Gabriel." He walked into the Tunnel expecting Elle to follow him. She did.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked as she tried to keep up with him.

"I think it's his ability."

"You mean…"

"Yes. I think Gabriel is having trouble controlling his ability. Our family has never been this big and-,"

"That's not my name, Peter."

It was too dark to see where the voice was coming from. Peter used his luminescence ability to emit a bright light from his body.

Elle had to shield her eyes from Peter's glowing body, but was able to see the rest of the Tunnel. Gabriel was standing only a few yards away, leaning his back against the wall.

"Gabriel…"

"I told you, that's not my name!" Gabriel snarled.

"What do you mean? That _is _your name." Peter frowned. He remembered Gabriel telling him about this urge he always felt to kill people and how he worried that he would eventually act on it. Peter knew that Gabriel would never hurt his family, but he was acting very strange at the moment. And why now? The man knew that they were at war with the government. He had seen it himself.

"My name is _Sylar_!"

"Sylar?" Peter and Elle asked at the same time.

"Yes. That's my name and that's what you will call me from now on."

"Oh, really?" Peter asked as he raised an eyebrow mockingly.

Sylar nodded his head slowly looking menacing.

"Okay, _Sylar_. We don't have time for this. You have to leave this place, _now_." Lots of men, women and children were on their way to the Tunnel and Peter wanted Gabriel to be gone, when they arrived. The man was acting like a psychopath and he couldn't have that. "Come on, let's go."

"Oh, I am leaving. Just not with _you_."

"I don't _care_! As long as you're fa-," but Peter didn't need to finish his sentence. Gabriel was gone. He couldn't be invisible, because Peter would still be able to see him if he was. The man had teleported to someplace else.

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Let's go back, Elle." He wanted to grab her arm again so he could teleport them both back to the main stage but she pulled her arm away from him.

"I think I'm just gonna walk."

"Fine," Peter said. He closed his eyes and teleported back to the main stage.

There were less people standing there than before. A quick look told him that the strongest of them had stayed. But there were others who had stayed that didn't make any sense to him.

"Niki," he said as he walked towards her and Micah. "Where is D.L. and why didn't he take Micah to the Tunnel?"

"Micah wants to help," she answered simply.

"I might be able to turn their machines off," Micah said enthusiastically.

Peter frowned at mother and son. Niki would never let Micah be exposed to such danger. "Where's Niki?"

"Niki can't handle any of this," Jessica answered.

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Where's D.L.?"

"Don't know. We haven't seen him in a couple of days."

_That's just great... _He turned to Micah, because the boy was smart. So was Jessica, but if he couldn't talk to Niki then there was no point. "Micah, do you think you can shut them off from a distance?"

Micah shrugged, "I think so. I mean, I can try..."

"Good, cause there's no way I'm gonna let you near those things. Your mom would agree with me, if she was here."

"He only wants to help," Jessica said. "He's just a little rebel, like his father."

"Remember what I've told you," Peter told Micah as he ignored Jessica.

He had to send more people away. They wanted to help, but they just couldn't. So he told Maya, Alejandro, Knox and Eden to go to the Tunnel. Their abilities were strong, but had no effect on machines. He asked Edgar and Daphne to stay when they were about to leave.

So, eventually they had a group of up to twenty-something carnies. The number seemed small, but that wouldn't matter if you knew what they were capable of. To Peter they most certainly formed the strongest army in the _world_. There was no other army, mechanic or human, that could defeat them.

He stepped on the stage again. "Guys, can I have your attention?" he asked, but he didn't need to ask. He already had their attention. They had stopped what they were doing as soon as they saw him. "If we do this right, no one has to die tonight."

"Why do you need us, Peter?" Daphne asked. She was standing next to Edgar.

"Ah, I have a plan and you guys are a very important part of it. You are the distraction."

"Distract robots?" Edgar asked as he raised an eyebrow. "How's that going to work?"

_I'm not sure. _"Someone must be controlling them. But you're right. They might only react when they detect human life. Either way, we have to be prepared. Daphne and Edgar, you lure them to some place far away from the rest of us. Ted," he said as he turned his attention to the man standing on his left, "you'll be there, waiting for them."

And so Peter explained and discussed his plans with all the carnies. It bothered him a bit, that they weren't all there. D.L.'s absence wasn't that much of a problem. His ability wasn't very useful, anyway. The absence of Claude and René _did_ bother him. He didn't need them per se, but it just didn't feel right. He had informed them this morning about what he had seen, after he woke up from having the dream. He went to his mother and Gabriel first, hoping that they had dreamed something different, but one look at their faces told him enough. It _was_ going to happen. He went to see the rest of them, after that. They had this group of 'leaders' and even though Peter had been chosen as their official leader, they all had a say in what happened at the carnival. This group of 'leaders' consisted of the Petrellis, the Nakamuras, the Bishops, Gabriel, Claude and René. He told them everything and they all agreed that they had to face their enemy together.

Peter realized that he hadn't seen Claude or René since he told them. _Maybe they ran, maybe they were scared._ That didn't make any sense. Those two wouldn't just run off. _They must be up to something…_

"Everyone knows what they have to do?" he asked the carnies.

They nodded their heads and headed towards the carnival's exit together, Peter walking behind them. They weren't going to have the fight in their own home. The government would destroy everything they worked so hard for.

The group was heading towards an abandoned industrial area. That's what Peter had seen in his dream. But instead of following them, he teleported back to the Tunnel of Teleportation. He had to wait for Hiro to come back after teleporting the last few carnies away from the carnival. They had agreed that Hiro would return, so he could help them with their fight. He was going to stay with Micah and teleport the wounded away if that would be necessary. Then Jeremy could heal them. Mrs. Nakamura was too sick to help. She has been sick for quite some while. Not even Jeremy was able to help her.

And there he was, standing at the entrance, the exact same spot where he stood with Nathan earlier that day. He had left before Peter had the chance to say goodbye again. _Will he ever see me again, after tonight?_

He heard a whoosh and knew that Hiro had returned. The Japanese man went to stand next to him and sighed.

"It is not fair," he said.

"You're right. It's not, but there's nothing we can do about that." Peter took a deep breath. "This is either gonna be the biggest show we've ever given or the last one we're ever going to give."

"I hope it is the first one."

"So do I, Hiro. So do I..."

They squeezed their eyes shut and teleported to the other carnies. Hiro had teleported to a different spot. He and Micah needed to have a better view of the area.

_And now we wait_.

Peter heard a _whoosh_ and expected it to be Hiro again, but as he turned around he saw that it wasn't Hiro. _Holy shit…_ He was looking at another version of himself. An exact same copy. The only difference was the scar across the other Peter's face and the way he looked at Peter. He had this constant angry expression on his face.

Peter stared at himself and Peter stared back at him. "Wh…" But then he heard another _whoosh_ behind him and turned around again. It was, "Gabriel!"_ Wearing different clothes…_

"He's still calling me 'Gabriel', Peter. We're not too late."

* * *

_That's it. That's when I woke up. Ugh, I hate alarm clocks! And yes, I decided to give Barbara weather control. It's an awesome ability!_

_I know it's a bit over the top, but dreams usually are. I'll try to make a bit more sense of everything in the next chapter._


End file.
